What was the first dessert you ever made?
Without a second thought—My answer would be Flan!
Flan was the very first dessert I made when I was young, and believe it or not, I’ve never messed it up. I used to make it frequently, serving it with great enthusiasm at almost every gathering. What I love about flan is its simplicity: it requires only four basic ingredients, yet it’s one of the easiest and most delicious desserts you can make right in your kitchen.
Flan is a rich custard dessert topped with a caramel layer, traditionally prepared by steaming or baking. It originated in Europe and has become popular worldwide.
Though the recipe only calls for milk, eggs, and sugar, the ratio of these ingredients can be adjusted to suit your taste. I never follow an exact measurement: each time I make flan, I tweak the amounts. Sometimes I add more eggs for richness, other times I use fewer. Recently, I decided to jot down my measurements to get a consistent result.
From my experience, using four eggs strikes the perfect balance for a creamy texture. You can also make flan with skim milk if you prefer. While many people bake it, I’ve always steamed my flan and find this method works best!
Here is the video for making the perfect Flan
- Milk- 1½ cups
- Eggs, large - 4
- Sugar - ½ cup
- Whole Cardamom, crushed- 2 (optional)
- Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
- Sugar- ½ cup
- Water- 2 tbsp
- In a large bowl, beat the the eggs using a whisk until smooth.
- Add milk, sugar and vanilla extract, beat well.
- Add crushed whole cardamom into the mixture, combine well (adding cardamom is optional) and keep aside.
- Place a non-stick cooking pan over medium heat, add sugar and water, let the sugar completely dissolve in water.
- Cook until the sugar starts to turn golden brown in color- do not stir the mixture while the caramelization happens.
- Remove the pan from the stove.
- Have the ramekins ready.
- Immediately pour the caramelized sugar onto each ramekin to form the bottom layer, let stand for 2 minutes until the caramek sugar has set well.
- Over the caramel layer, pour the prepared milk and egg mixture.
- Cover the ramekin with an aluminum foil and keep aside.
- Add 1 cup water into a large cooking pot. Place a trivet over the water.
- Place the pot over medium heat.
- Place the ramekins with the flan mixture covered with aluminum foil on the trivet.
- Cover the pot with its lid and let steam cook for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat, let cool down a bit.
- Carefully take out the ramekins with the flan from the pot. Wear an oven mitt as the bowl is very hot.
- Remove the aluminum foil and chill the flan in the refrigerator for an hour.
- Run a knife through the sides of the ramekin to loosen up the flan.
- Cover the ramekin with a dessert plate.
- Gently flip it over.
- Flan will nicely fall onto the plate and now you will have the caramel sugar layer on the top.
- Indulge in this rich, creamy and delicious flan.
- Preheat oven to 325 F or 162 degree C.
- Pour the flan mixture into caramel lined ramekins.
- Cover the ramekins with aluminum foil.
- Place the ramekins on a large glass baking dish with 1 cup water in it.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the flan has set well in the hot water bath.
- Insert a fork through the center of the flan, if it comes out clean it's cooked well, else bake for some more time.
Leftover flan can be refrigerated covered with a plastic wrap, I don't think there will be any leftover
Flan Recipe
Ingredients:
- Milk- 1 1/2 cups
- Eggs – 4
- Sugar – 1/2 cup or according to your needs
- Whole cardamom, crushed (optional) – 2
- Vanilla essence (optional) – 1 tsp
For making Caramel:
- Sugar- 1/2 cup
- Water- 1/8 cup
Instruction
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth.
- Combine milk, eggs, sugar and vanilla essence together.
- Add smashed whole cardamom into the mixture and keep aside.
Making Caramelized Sugar:
- In a non-stick cooking pan, add sugar and water, let the sugar completely dissolve in water. Cook until the sugar starts to turn light brown in color- do not stir the mixture.
- Remove the pan from the stove.
- Have a glass bowl or ramekins or stainless steel plate ready.
- Immediately pour the caramel into the glass bowl or to each ramekin to form the bottom layer, let it stand for a while until it sets.
- Over the caramel layer, pour the prepared milk and egg mixture.
- Cover the bowl with an aluminum foil and keep aside.
How to Steam cook the flan:
- Add 1 1/2 cups of water into a wide non-stick cooking pan or pot.
- Place the pot over medium heat.
- Place the bowl with the mixture covered with aluminum foil over the water.
- Cover the pot with its lid and let it steam cook for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the heat, let it cool down a bit.
- Carefully take out the glass bowl with the flan from the pot. Wear oven gloves as the bowl would be very hot.
- Remove the aluminum foil and let it cool down for few minutes.
How to plate:
- Run a knife through the sides of the flan in the bowl.
- Cover the bowl containing the flan with a plate.
- Gently invert the plate holding onto the bowl.
- Flan will fall onto the plate and now you will have the caramel layer facing up.
- Chill the flan for an hour in the refrigerator.
- Using a knife, cut the flan in whatever shape you want.
- Indulge in this dessert and enjoy!
How to Bake Flan:
- Preheat oven to 325 F or 162 degree C.
- Pour the flan mixture into caramel lined ramekins or bowls.
- Cover the ramekins with aluminum foil.
- Place the ramekins on a large glass baking dish filled with 1-2 inches of hot water.
- Bake for 1 hour or until the flan is set in the hot water bath.
- Run a sharp knife through the center of the flan, if it comes out clean it’s ready, else bake for some more time.
Tips:
- Flan tastes delicious if it is chilled so don’t forget to chill it before serving.
- Leftover flan can be refrigerated covered with a plastic wrap, I don’t think there will be any leftover
